The FF.Net Published version.
Disclaimer: The author of this piece would like to state that 90% of the characters featured here are properties of BVS Entertainment Inc and not that of the author. 10% of the characters featured here are original creations of the author. Also, to repeat what was said back in the first chapter, the author understands that this piece automatically negates events that occur any and all PR incarnations that occur after Power Rangers Wild Force. Just thought we should be clear on that.
On a side note: The author apologizes for the delay and appreciates the reviews and criticisms from the folks who read the story.
-o-
Out on an open field, two longtime friends face each other in combat for the first time in a long while. Some distance apart, Thomas Oliver and Jason Lee Scott locked eyes with each other for some time. Each one holds their respective morpher, waiting for the right moment. Near the house, Carter Grayson and Cole Evans watched the fight from afar. They were about to see a sight they never thought possible; the battle between two Power Rangers.
There have been Ranger battles among each other before, but this was different. There are no spells involved, no misguided loyalties, no evil agents… just two longtime friends venting out their frustrations… or rather, the frustrations of one.
Jason looked at his friend; Tom had some anger built in him, he thought to himself, and he needs to vent it out. Thomas looked back at his friend; Jason knows I need to vent my anger, he thought, but not on him.
“I was going to let this pass, Tom,” Jason said, “but since you really need this, then I should let you know that I’m not holding back.”
Thomas nodded with reluctance, “Agreed. Let’s do this.”
Both Red Rangers stared each down a short while longer before calling out in unison, “IT’S MORPHIN TIME!”
Two flashes of light enveloped on both Jason and Thomas. When both faded, they were replaced with the Red Power Ranger and Red Zeo Ranger, both of them brandishing their respective Power swords. Neither one made a move for a minute. Then the battle begun.
Red Zeo leaped to the air, raising his sword above his head. Red Ranger also leaped with his sword above his head too. When the two met, both swords clashed together, causing a slight spark of red energy. The two landed on their feet and began dueling. Red Ranger managed to block off Red Zeo’s attacks, and Red Zeo managed to do the same. A mistake on Red Zeo’s part allowed for an opening, and Red Ranger took advantage with a spinning heel kick to his opponent’s hand, disarming him of his Zeo sword. Red Zeo would leap from Red Ranger’s sword strikes until he was in a favorable distance. Taking his Zeo Blaster, he fired a laser beam at Red Ranger. While the Power sword deflected the beam successfully, more shots from Zeo Red managed to keep Red Ranger off-balance. After blocking a few blows, a beam finally impacted Red Ranger, knocking him down.
Red Ranger groggily got back on his feet and turned to see Red Zeo leap, motioning for a jump kick. He recognized this move as the “Zeo Flying Power Kick,” an effective maneuver. Red Zeo flew at incredible speed and managed to land the kick on Red Ranger’s head, knocking him down.
Looking ahead behind his mask, Thomas frowned. “I expected more from you, Jason,” he taunted, “You’re a little out of touch.”
“Don’t worry, bro,” Red Ranger rebutted as he struggled back to his feet, “I’m just getting started.”
Drawing his Blade blaster from his holster, he fired several charged shots at Red Zeo. Although the first shot missed, the second shots onward did not and Red Zeo was jolted to the ground, but soon recovered quickly. Both Rangers attempted another round of hand-to-hand combat, showing off their martial arts prowess. Each attack was blocked, each move countered once or twice, each attempt at a finishing blow missed. After sidestepping one of Red Ranger’s roundhouse kicks, Red Zeo thrust his head with full force at Red Ranger’s face. Taking advantage of his opponent’s stunned state, he leaped with another Power Kick attempt in mind, but Red Ranger blocked the maneuver with his arms and countered with a swift kick to the head of Zeo Red. Thomas could do nothing except wait until his body impacted the ground.
Seeing Red Zeo struggling to his feet, Red Ranger rushed towards his opponent and went for a sliding kick, effectively tripping Red Zeo back on the black soil of the battle field.
-o-
Near the house, Cole Evans and Carter Grayson watched as the two veteran Power Rangers fought it out. Carter hung his head in depression.
“Damn,” he groaned, “why is this my problem?”
Cole couldn’t understand, although chances are he wasn’t meant to. So he sat patiently on the ground while Carter grumbled.
“When Captain Mitchell stepped down and offered me command of Lightspeed Rescue, it was a thrill. I’m not just some second-string Red Ranger that got the role because I was chosen by a government-sanctioned organization that knew how to develop the technology.
“I wasn’t chosen by a sage or a floating head or by pulling a sword out of its stone. I was given a duty as a Ranger by a man of the people. I like to think I did my job well… well enough to earn a promotion. But the job as Commander was too much for me. It’s not all I expected it to be.”
Cole paused for a moment before thoughtfully telling Carter his feelings on the matter. “From what you tell me,” he suggested innocently enough, “is that you were an idiot to accept the promotion in the first place.”
Again with the idiot, Carter thought. It did NOT sit too well with him, but he agreed with Cole for the most part, although he didn’t want to openly admit it.
“Look on the bright side,” Cole offered, “Wes and Eric aren’t around to call you an idiot.”
Carter looked at the rookie Ranger. That one look was all Cole needed to get the “Shut Up” message.
-o-
After a half hour of various moves and countermoves, Red Ranger and Red Zeo stood at a distance from each other, both firmly clutching their blasters with both hands. Traditional martial arts did not work. Swordplay did nothing to end the fight. It would be luck of the draw. Without hesitation, Red Ranger fired several blasts, but Red Zeo managed a high leap and fired a flurry of laser bolts at Red Ranger, who managed to dodge most of the incoming fire before getting blasted on the chest and was subsequently knocked down.
With his adversary fallen, Red Zeo threw away the blaster and made a leap in the air. He positioned his right arm so that the tip of the elbow would hit. Red Ranger noticed his adversary above him, but did not move out of the way. Instead, he simply crossed his arms across his chest and soon extended them. A brief flash occurred, blinding Zeo Red temporarily but not enough to knock him away. Zeo Red did feel a pain in his elbow, as it collided with a golden plate. Zeo Red stood quickly and observed his fallen opponent. Behind the mask was a shocked expression. Slightly audible, he mouthed the word “Impossible.”
The distraction in place, Red Ranger lifted his foot across Zeo Red’s head, knocking him silly. When Zeo Red got himself back together, he looked ahead at his Ranger opponent and saw him forming a ball of red energy. After a moment, Red Ranger released the ball and saw as it impacted and knocked down Zeo Red. Once fallen, the uniform of the Red Zeo Ranger faded and left behind the defeated Thomas Oliver. Red Ranger demorphed soon after and went to check on his friend. Thankfully, Thomas was still breathing.
“You okay, bro?” Jason asked worriedly, offering a hand.
Thomas nodded slowly, taking the hand of his friend, who helped get back on his feet.
“Thanks, man,” Thomas said, embarrassed, “I needed that.”
“No problem, bro.”
As the two Rangers recovered, Thomas’ wrist communicator made a light tone, indicating that he was receiving an e-mail. Jason motioned him to go ahead while he recovered. Thomas gave a small smile, nodded, and rushed towards the house.
-o-
From : Andros, KO-35 Mailer-Unit 001
To : Thomas Oliver
Subject : Trouble In Space
Tom. I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to reach you the past few days, but we’ve had several problems. As I type this message, we (TJ, Zhane, and myself) are guests of Aradon, the new ruler of the Machine Empire… or rather what’s left of it. It’s a long story, one that I don’t have time for so I’ll get to the point.
We’ve been tracking several asteroid belts that used to be planets, one of them being Gorah Khan. After some searching, we eventually found a massive spiked vessel, presumably the cause of all this destruction. We tried to engage it, but all that left us was a burning hulk of a ship.
Surprisingly to us, Aradon’s battlecruiser picked us up and agreed to assist us with repairs to the ship, as well as shed some light on this machine. From what we know, it’s called the Wraith and it has a superlaser similar to Serpenterra, but more powerful. Aside from this, there’s little else we know.
I’m hoping that you can help us out with this. Thanks. Andros
Thomas turned his chair away from the message and looked ahead at Carter with a quizzical look. “The Varox said that he was preparing this planet for something called the Wraith, wasn’t he?” he asked.
Carter nodded slowly. Thomas stood up and stared blankly at the Lightspeed commander. “Do you have access to the archives?”
“Yes” was Carter’s soft reply.
“Good,” Thomas said, obviously pleased, “I want you to find whatever you can on this ‘Wraith’ and copy the files to disk. Then come back.”
“Right” was Carter’s other reply.
Thomas managed a quick smile before his face went firm. “This is more important than your job.” he told him, “This does not leak to anyone except fellow Rangers. Is that understood?”
Carter hesitated slightly. He did not want to comply, but then he does not want to lose the trust of the veteran. With a defeated tone, Carter answered, “Perfectly.”
Thomas noticed the look of guilt on Carter’s face and dropped his head down. He soon looked up and placed a hand on the former Lightspeed Ranger’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I went all out at you,” Thomas said in an apologetic tone, “I didn’t mean to. I’m just frustrated at all this.”
“Don’t worry,” answered Carter, allowing himself a smile, “this thing’s been hot on all of us.”
“Just the same, I don’t want anything we’re doing to leak out,” Thomas’ tone changed to a stern commander, “We’ll meet again tomorrow morning.”
With that, Carter gave Thomas a salute and walked out the room. Thomas waited until the door was shut, then gave a salute of his own. He allowed a grin. Even though things seem badly, he has a plan that requires something from the old days. Something that is vital…
Enough of this, he thought, time to get to work.
To be continued…
